Journeying with Resurrected Jesus

And, be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs of the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:15-17

Let your heart be always guided by peace of the Anointed One, who called you to peace as part of one body. And always be thankful. Let the word of Christ live in you richly, flooding you with all wisdom. Apply the scriptures as you teach and instruct one another with the Psalms, and with festive praises, and with prophetic songs given to you by the Spirit, so sing to God with all your heart. (TPT)

Today is "Thankful Thursday." Are you noticing a pattern? For our Eastertide study, we will provide these special days each week. You can expect Monday meditation, Truth-filled Tuesday, Worship Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, and Fun Friday every week. Doesn't that sound so fun? (I can't take ANY credit for the creativity.

Over the next few weeks, we will break down the story of these two travelers on their way to Emmaus. This week, though, we've been looking at the story as a whole. This passage of scripture in Colossians is the perfect call to gratitude for us this week.

Look at the first phrase in The Passion Translation, Let your heart always be guided by the peace of the Anointed One. As I read this verse, I saw an image of my heart being guided along just as closely as Jesus walked alongside these two travelers.

They didn't recognize Him, and often my heart doesn't recognize Him either.

They were sad and lonely, because they didn't understand what Jesus was doing, and my heart struggles to remember too.

They had lost all hope even in the presence of the Living Hope, and my heart lives in unnecessary hopelessness on occasion.

Goodness, we are a mess! Yet, the message of Christ is that God so loved us (messy, forgetful, and hopeless us) that He sent His Son to rescue us. Our Luke passage demonstrates that He finished the job. It is finished. We are saved.

How else could we respond other than thankfulness?

How do you most often demonstrate your gratitude to God; wisdom from Psalms (study of God's Word), hymns (known songs, poems, etc.), or prophetic singing (your very own song from the heart)?

Jesus, thank you for journeying with us. Sometimes we don't recognize You, but we believe You are here. There are times when we are sad, disappointed, and even a little lost in this world, because the expectations of our humanity get in the way. When You make yourself very evident, though, our hearts burn within us. Will you help us to recognize that and trust it. Your presence can make us brave. Today, we commit ourselves to You. We want to be transformed by Your presence in our lives and Your power in our bodies. We belong to You, and that Truth makes us glad. Amen.